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The X Factor judges reveal who they thought would win from the very start

Matt Terry has been crowned the 2016 champion of X Factor but did the judges always predict he would win?

At the very beginning of the live shows, the four judges made an appearance on the Xtra Factor to write down the names of who they thought stood the best chance of winning the show. Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh all secretly wrote down their predictions before placing the names in sealed envelopes.

Now that the final live show has come to a close, the names in those envelopes has finally been revealed. And it turns out that Matt was a favourite even from the early stages of the competition!

The judges did a rather good job at guessing the 2016 winner. Simon predicted that both Matt Terry and Samantha Lavery would make it to the final, Louis opted for either Matt Terry or 5 After Midnight and Nicole Scherzy had faith that it would be her own act Matt Terry that would come out on top.

The only judge that was slightly off was Mrs O. who guessed that Relley C and 5 After Midnight were the frontrunners of the competition.

Interestingly, runner up Saara Aalto was not mentioned by any of the X Factor judges. Indeed, the contestant really came into her own halfway through the live shows and so many did not view the Finnish singer as a potential winner during the early stages of the competition. Props to you Saara for defying all expectations!

Matt Terry was announced the winner of the ITV competition on Sunday night and has now bagged himself a recording deal with Simon Cowell’s Syco label. His winner’s single was unveiled after his win and the festive tune is already tipped as the favourite to reach that number one spot in time for Christmas.

Congratulations Matt! It looks like the judges were always right about you…